


Like Vines

by seratonation



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, team fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-22
Updated: 2012-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-10 11:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/465976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seratonation/pseuds/seratonation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were now intertwined, they had no choice in the matter</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Vines

**Author's Note:**

> Just some post-movie thoughts I needed to get in order for myself, and they turned into fic. I don't know why I'm so nervous about posting it, but I can't let it sit on my drive any more.

Steve was wary. It wasn't enough that the world had moved on, but he had to find out that the one thing he was blaming for all of this didn't even exist. 

Sure they all added qualifiers (God-like, demi-God) but it didn’t change the fact that Thor and Loki were associated with what he grew up to believe was a One and Only God. Now that he’s seen what they could do, he was hard pressed to argue. 

He was in the cafeteria of the Helicarrier when Thor approached and sat opposite him.“You do not look well, Captain Rogers,” he said.

“Call me Steve,” Steve replied, not looking Thor in the eye, “and I’m fine.”

“There is no need to look so troubled,” Thor said, “please, feel free to speak truthfully, we have fought together, we are brothers in arms.”

Steve knew he was right, but how do you tell someone that their very existence was causing you to go into a crisis. 

“Are you really a god?” he blurted instead, and then instantly wished he could take it back, “I don't mean any offence, but that’s what Natasha called you.”

“Ah, you are a man of faith,” Thor said, “Captain, I am not The Creator, I am but a man with excellent abilities in a world that has yet to catch up. We are not as different as you think, Steve.”

Steve smiled. “We should go out some time, you can tell me more about how that hammer of yours works.”

Thor grinned. “It would be my pleasure to palaver with you Captain.”

***

“Agent Barton,” Thor approached Clint next, “may I have a word?”

“Sure, buddy,” Clint said, putting down the arrow he was trying to fix, “what’s up?”

“I would like to formally apologise for my brothers behaviour towards you,” Thor said. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Clint said, waving him off and picking up the arrow again. 

“You have suggested before that you were distraught by the mind altering magic Loki did to you,” Thor said, brow furrowing.

Clint shrugged. “Yeah, but it wasn’t your fault.”

“He is my younger brother and I am responsible for him,” Thor said, “and if I had not been exiled to Earth, if I had listened to my father-”

“No,” Clint said, “you didn’t make him flatten that town, you didn’t make him attack all those people, you didn’t help him release the Chitauri or those giant turtle things, you didn’t hold the staff to my chest and force him to turn me- us. The way Tasha tells it you helped us in every way you could.”

“However you are still distraught,” Thor said reproachfully. He could see it in Clint’s eyes, the same weariness in Steve’s eyes. 

“Yeah,” Clint agreed, but shot a smile at Thor, “I’ll be okay. You recovered well, got your hammer back from the desert.”

“Ah, Son-of-Coul told you of New Mexico?” Thor said, smiling. 

“Buddy,” Clint said, putting a hand on Thor’s shoulder, looking more normal, “I was up high when you took down half the base to get to that thing. I could have taken you down at any moment.”

“Yet you did not,” Thor said, almost a question. 

“No, I didn’t,” Clint said, “you have heart, I guess that makes us almost the same.”

***

“Why do you call him the other guy?” Clint asked, “isn’t he still you?” 

Bruce looked up from his tablet. “I used to believe that, you know?” he said, “but when I’m- when he’s in control, it’s like I have to take a back seat, with a blindfold and gag, hands behind my back. I become just a spectator.”

Clint nodded, as if considering. “And how do you deal with that?” 

Bruce cocked his head. “Some people will tell you, I haven’t.”

“I’m asking you,” Clint said, looking him straight in the eye.

Bruce sighed and took off his glasses. “He’s like a wild pet,” Bruce said, “I have to keep him on a short leash, and he’s inside me. I couldn't always control him, but I could control where he got loose.”

“That’s why you left.” 

“Yeah,” Bruce answered, even though it hadn’t really been a question.

“How can you take it? Over and over, waking up and wondering what you did-”

“I’ve accepted that it’s not really me,” Bruce said, “I mean, it took me a while, but we got there in the end.”

“You and the other guy?” 

“Yeah,” Bruce said, “he’s not so bad, once you get to know him.”

***

Tracking Natasha down when she didn't want to be found was near impossible. Clint had told Bruce as much, but he’d given a couple of clues, and with Tony’s help he finally managed to find her, in the kitchen of all places. 

“Hey Natasha,” he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the machine that never seemed to run out, before sitting opposite her on the table.

“Hi doctor,” she said, smiling at him over her cup. He had the distinct feeling that it wasn't him that had found her, but more the fact she had stopped not wanting to be found, “what can I do for you?”

“Nothing at all,” he said, “I just wanted to make sure-” then he stopped, and started again, choosing his words carefully, “I wanted to apologise for what happened when Loki took control.”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.”

He still looked doubtful so she put her cup down and looked him in the eye. “I was scared,” she said, “and that’s the truth, I’ve seen a lot of things so it takes a lot for me to be scared, you understand?”

He nodded. “I don't want you to be-”

“No, I hadn’t seen it happen before, so seeing you change like that was not what I was expecting, and, no offence doctor, but that’s not something you can prepare yourself for.”

He laughed at that. “I don't think it’s something you ever completely get used to.”

She smiled back. “You don't know me well enough then. I get scared then I get over it. Next time I’ll be more prepared.”

“There won’t be a next time,” he said. 

“Never say never,” she said, but she was smiling, so Bruce figured they were going to be all right. 

***

“Natasha Romanoff,” Tony said, waving away the holographic display he was working on, “or whatever name you’re using these days.”

“Natasha is fine,” she said, “we have to talk.”

“Listen, I know when you were working for me I was really hard to resist, and if I remember correctly you promised me something on my birthday, but I’m going to let that go. I’m with Pepper now, if this was going to happen you’d have to go through her first.”

She gave him a hard look. “Like I would ever willingly sleep with you,” she said, “I wrote that report on you remember?”

“Ah, but I’ve changed, and you didn’t object to Pepper, interesting,” he said, fiddling with a screwdriver that was on the table. 

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not here about me,” she said, “I’m here about Steve.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about inviting Steve to our bed,” Tony said, “hey, no need to look like that, I’m kidding, I don't think he’d take too kindly to threesoms anyway.”

“Do you not have a filter?” she said, “do you just say everything that comes into your head?”

“Pretty much,” he said, and grinned, then put down the screw driver and gestured for her to sit down, “no, I’m sorry, I can behave, what has the good captain gotten himself into?”

“Nothing,” she said, but took the seat he offered, “we want to re-initiate the mission to help him acclimate into the world.”

“What, destroying new york wasn't enough?” he said, “Besides that’s SHIELDs mission, what do you need me for? Last I checked I was still only a consultant, my personality hasn't changed, and the only reason you guys called me in last time was because you had no one else.”

She pressed her lips together. She couldn’t deny that, but a lot of things had changed in the last 3 weeks. “Fury believes that since The Avengers have already established a relationship with him we’d be the best candidates.”

Tony laughed, and she had to smile in response. “I know we all had problems at the beginning,” she said, “but we’re all he has. He barely talks to anyone else on the ship, but now that he’s been out there he can’t seem to sit still.”

“So you, what, want to go out for dinner? Drinking? What do normal people do on a Friday night.”

At this she hesitated. “I’m not really sure, actually.” 

***

“Karaoke?” Tony said, “you have the strongest and smartest and you want to go singing?”

“Yeah,” Steve said, “it could be a good bonding experience. I wanted to go bowling at first but Agent Hill thought that would be ill advised.”

Bruce laughed. “Yeah, egos everywhere, drawing attention to ourselves, it would’ve been a real party then.”

“I see,” Thor said, “you decided on something where our skills will be more evenly matched.”

“I don't know,” Clint said, “I think ‘Tasha can give you all a run for your money.”

They all turned to her in surprise, but she just raised an eyebrow at them. “It’s one of my skills.”

“Is that in all the languages you speak, or just English?” Tony asked. 

“All the languages,” she said, smiled, and took the stage first.


End file.
